Sensor systems often require multiple connectors and long cable runs to transmit signals from the sensor elements to receivers and processors located remotely. When a connector fails or when a cable develops an open conductor condition, erroneous signals may go un-noticed and may lead to unsafe conditions, for example, or the machinery being monitored may operate incorrectly until operators notice the problem and repair the connection. In certain sensors, particularly in linear variable differential transformer (LVDT)-based sensors, remotely generated excitation signals can be provided to sensor elements by shielded twisted pair excitation cables, for example. The amplitude of the excitation signal coupling through the LVDT sensor as a function of the sensor position, for example, may then be transmitted back to the remote receiver via a separate return shielded twisted pair. Certain open-circuit connection scenarios exist where excitation signals may couple from the excitation source to the receiver via shielding or ground paths without transduction from the actual sensor. In such scenarios, the received excitation signal can appear to be a valid signal, and may be extremely difficult to diagnose and correct.